The three mentions of the Dominion prior to the episode "The Jem'Hadar" were specifically designed to create a sense of layering and to convey the idea that the Dominion were involved in many different activities: in "Rules of Acquisition" it is revealed that they are involved in trade and commerce; in "Sanctuary", it is revealed that they have a military division; and in "Shadowplay" it is revealed that they are imperialists who think nothing of invading and conquering an entire planet.

The late Michael Piller was extremely proud of this season; "When we really started doing stories about our space station, and really made it unique to itself, that's when the series, I think, really became special. I think, if you look at the second season of Deep Space Nine, and I think that I would, personally, put that on a par with any single season in the history ofStar Trek." (New Frontiers: The Story of Deep Space Nine, DS9 Season 2 DVD, Special Features)

Robert Hewitt Wolfe also agrees that the show really found its footing during the second season; "By the second season we knew how to do the right things, I think with more consistency, and we started to nail them more often. And we also started to develop the Dominion arc and to really understand more about the Prophets and Bajor and understand the relationship with the characters. So it just became a stronger show." (New Frontiers: The Story of Deep Space Nine, DS9 Season 2 DVD, Special Features)

This is the only season of Deep Space Nine in which the Prophets do not appear on screen.